fuddy

Thanks for the insights, CraigD. The situation is - Some humans make it to an island after crashing on another planet. They inadvertently infect the natives w/ a disease (no immunity), & the few vengeful surviving natives give these addictive eggs to the humans, in hopes of killing them off. So the next generation of humans find themselves addicted (maybe it 'kicks in' at puberty). Maybe the gel formed to protect the pathogen from migrating from the eggs into the fish’s body & killing it - the pathogen's 'niche' is the eggs, & in order to eliminate other animals that would otherwise predate these sweet eggs, it developed this killing addiction. (?)

Hi, all. Fictional scenario - People discover that the egg-mass of a fish is deliciously sweet. Everyone partakes, w/ no ill effect, but their offspring are born addicted to it. The withdrawal symptoms are psychologically & physically devastating, & each year they need more & more to stave them off. The cure is the gel surrounding & encapsulating the egg-mass, & it must be held in the mouth for, say, fifteen minutes to be effective (absorbed through the mucous membranes, like sub-lingual B-12, to by-pass break down by the liver). Perhaps the addiction is caused by a parasite, or an algae toxin, & the gel formed to protect the bad stuff from killing the fish, or keep predators from eating the eggs (like someone suggested in the 'biology' forum), I don't know. Would this be medically, chemically, genetically feasible? Any suggestions? Thanks!

Thanks, guys - If only I could kidnap and interrogate a medical biologist for some detailed speculative possibilities on this, but that's not legal. Anyone know any friendly, talkative professors with active imaginations out there? It's for a sci-fi story, so there's room to play with it, I just want to get it as real as I can. What us sci-fi guys need is a 'pay the pro for his accurately insightful speculative answer' site. Freeztar - your nicotine thing is what I had in mind, the gel would contain an altered form of the addictive element, acting like a vaccine of sorts. Looking at your avatar... do you double for Chevy Chase? ARE you Chevy Chase?

Hi, all. Fictional scenario - People discover that the egg-mass of a fish is deliciously sweet. Everyone partakes, w/ no ill effect, but their offspring are born addicted to it. The withdrawal symptoms are psychologically & physically devastating, & each year they need more & more to stave them off. The cure is the gel surrounding & encapsulating the egg-mass, & it must be held in the mouth to be effective (absorbed through the mucous membranes, like sub-lingual B-12, to by-pass the liver). Perhaps the addiction is caused by a parasite, or an algae toxin, & the gel forms to protect the bad stuff from killing the fish, I don't know. Could this be medically feasible? Any suggestions? Thanks!

Hi Ron, thanks - I was thinking the south end of the peninsula would be mostly dry, being in the subtropical subsidence zone, sinking air from the tropics to it's south wringing out the moisture, like you see now at 30 - 35 degree latitudes. No? Coldish currents flowing down the west side of the peninsula, & warmish currents up the east side would create fog the farther north you went on it, I would think. I'm guessing the polar continent would have a small ice cap in the interior. (?)

Surely there's somebody out there who knows enough about climatology, the ACC, etc who's gutsy enough to take a shot at this. Maybe the complexity of this is too intimidating. Or is it Forumapathy? PLEASE-OH-PLEASE!!!, HELP MEEEEEEE!!

Hi - I know this is a complex science, so I I'll use Earth as a benchmark for my question. Take our planet, but w/ these changes: 1 -Only one small continent, occupying the northern polar region (about the size of, say, Antarctica). 2 -An extremely narrow, continuous peninsula arcing south from this continent to about where Bermuda is. Specifically, a - what would likely be the climate at the southern end of the long peninsula? b - ...at the small polar continent? Would 'a' be warm & arid, & 'b' cold & rainy? Would there likely be cyclonic storms in the tropics? How would the landmasses need to change to achieve these climates? Most speculations I've heard so far say this, but some are wildly different - what do you guys say? Or does anyone know where else I might get an answer? :shrug: -help!

Hi, the 'fuddy' was my dog, a terrier whose fur & personality were always in wild disarray. I'm in Michigan wishing I was back home in Colorado (MI=not good). To take my mind off this place, I'm working on a planet for a story, but not being a climatologist or oceanographer, & getting conflicting data from different sources, I'm having a tough time nailing down a realistic climate for it.... (!help!)